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Indonesian judge 'sorry' for rape remarks

Kate Hodal, Bangkok

AN INDONESIAN supreme court candidate has sparked public outrage after suggesting that women may enjoy being raped.

Muhammad Daming Sanusi made the remark on Monday before a parliamentary selection panel, during which he was asked whether the death penalty was a suitable punishment for rape. Mr Sanusi said that since both the rapist and the victim ‘‘might have enjoyed it, we have to think twice about imposing the death penalty’’.

If we have judges [who] make light of rape, we will only encourage more attacks on women and children.

Members of the panel reportedly laughed at his comments, which drew immediate criticism from rights groups and on social media.

Mr Sanusi apologised on Tuesday and said his remark was intended to ‘‘ease the tension’’ of the interview. He tearfully told a press conference he was ‘‘out of control’’ and said: ‘‘I apologise to the Indonesian public from the bottom of my heart. I realise those words shouldn’t have come out from anyone, let alone a justice hopeful.’’

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Several political parties - among them the Democratic Party, which holds the highest number of seats at the parliamentary commission overseeing the appointment - have since vowed not to support Mr Sanusi’s supreme court candidacy. Indonesia’s judicial commission is also investigating whether his comments constitute an ethics violation.

Various rights groups have called for Mr Sanusi’s dismissal, among them the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, which described the judge’s comments as ‘‘extremely inappropriate’’. An online petition has been launched calling for his disqualification as a supreme court candidate.

But Mr Sanusi, a judge for the past 24 years who is currently chief of the high court in Palembang, south Sumatra, has found supporters amid the furore, among them the supreme court spokesman Ridwan Mansyur, who said: ‘‘Judges are only humans [and] can make mistakes - and he already apologised to the public.’’

Activists claim that government officials too often fail to take rape seriously, pointing to last year’s outrage over comments by Jakarta’s then governor Fauzi Bowo, who warned women not to wear miniskirts on public transport as such clothing ‘‘could arouse male drivers and passengers’’ and lead to ‘‘unwanted consequences’’.

An editorial in the Jakarta Globe called Mr Sanusi’s views ‘‘beyond shocking’’ and opined: ‘‘If we have judges [who] make light of rape, we will only encourage more attacks on women and children.’’

Rape is often unreported in Indonesia because the blame too often focuses on the victim, rights groups say.

Heinous sexual crimes often make national headlines, the most recent being that of an Indonesian girl aged 11 who died earlier this month of infections believed to have been incurred after repeated sexual abuse.

Indonesia’s court system currently enforces the death penalty for drug trafficking, terrorism and homicide, but not rape.